How do I Use the Channel Overview?
The Overview is the first screen you see when you open a channel. It shows what the channel is broadcasting, how many people are watching, and the state of your plan and storage.
Open the Overview
On My Channels, click a channel. To return to the Overview from another screen, click Overview in the channel menu.
Broadcast Status
The top of the screen shows the channel name and three indicators:
| Indicator | What it shows |
|---|---|
| STREAMING or OFFLINE | STREAMING while a live feed is on air |
| PRE-ENCODED or LIVE ENCODE | How the clip on air is being played. PRE-ENCODED clips were prepared when they were uploaded and play from those files. LIVE ENCODE clips are encoded as they play. Shown only while a clip is playing |
| ON / OFF switch | Whether the channel is broadcasting. See Turn Broadcasting Off |
A rotation playlist can alternate between PRE-ENCODED and LIVE ENCODE from one clip to the next. Neither needs any action from you.
Preview Your Channel
The player shows your channel's output, as viewers see it. It doesn't start on its own: click play to watch. When nothing is playing, it shows the current video's thumbnail or your channel poster.
Public Watch Link
Under the player, Public Watch Link shows the address of your channel's watch page.
- Click the link to open the watch page in a new tab.
- Click the share button to copy or share the link.
See How do I Share My Watch Page?.
Active Viewers
Metrics shows Active Viewers, the number of people watching your channel's stream right now. The figure refreshes every 10 seconds.
Your plan sets how many concurrent viewers the channel is for. See Plans.
Take an Ad Break
While a live feed is on air, Take Ad Break appears under Active Viewers. Use it to play a commercial from your commercials reservoir.
- Click Take Ad Break.
- In Select Commercial, choose an ad. Each ad shows its length.
- Under Timing Behavior, choose what happens to your programming:
- Skip Missed Content: the ad plays over whatever would have aired. When it ends, programming continues from the current time, as on standard TV.
- Push Back Schedule (Slide): every scheduled broadcast that hasn't finished moves later by the length of the ad, so nothing is missed.
- Click Trigger Break.
If the dialog shows No ads found in your reservoir., click Setup Commercial Pool and add ads first. See How do I Run Commercial Breaks?.
Account Info
| Item | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Wallet balance | Your Cecula Wallet balance, in naira |
| Channel Plan | The channel's plan, marked ACTIVE or EXPIRED |
| Storage Usage | How much of the channel's storage allowance is used, including any storage add-on |
- Adding money: see Paying from Your Cecula Wallet.
- Freeing or buying storage: see How do I Manage Channel Storage?.
Turn Broadcasting Off
The ON/OFF switch at the top right takes the whole channel off air, and puts it back.
- OFF: nothing airs. Live feeds, scheduled broadcasts and playlists are all held back. Viewers see your channel poster if it's exactly 1920 × 1080 pixels, and colour bars if it isn't. Cecula Stream confirms Broadcasting has been stopped for this channel.
- ON: the channel returns to its normal programming straight away. See Programming.
A new channel starts with broadcasting on. While the subscription is expired, the switch shows OFF and can't be used.
To set the poster viewers see while the channel is off, see Add a Channel Poster.
Who Can Use the Overview
Everyone on the channel can open the Overview, and it stays available while a subscription is expired. Viewers can see it, but can't use the switch or take an ad break. See Roles.